Preface to Shakespeare

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

5429

Title

Preface to Shakespeare

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Samuel Johnson's seminal essay defends Shakespeare as the supreme poet of nature, whose characters reflect universal human experience rather than transient fashions. Johnson critiques later editors for corrupting the text while praising Shakespeare's ability to blend tragedy and comedy into a faithful mirror of life.

Summary up to 500 words

In his celebrated 'Preface to Shakespeare,' Samuel Johnson argues that true literary merit is proven by enduring public esteem rather than contemporary praise or rigid adherence to classical rules. He champions Shakespeare as the 'poet of nature,' whose characters represent general human species rather than narrow individuals, and whose dialogue captures the authentic rhythms of real life. Johnson defends Shakespeare's mixing of tragic and comic elements, asserting that real life contains both sorrow and joy simultaneously, a reality often obscured by artificial dramatic conventions. The essay also offers a critical history of Shakespeare's textual corruption by printers and editors like Rowe, Pope, and Hanmer. Johnson praises his own revision for restoring integrity while acknowledging the difficulty of emending such an ungrammatical author. He notes Shakespeare's lack of concern for posterity, observing that the playwright likely did not anticipate his works would survive him. Johnson concludes with specific notes on plays like *Romeo and Juliet*, *Hamlet*, and *Othello*. In *Romeo and Juliet*, he corrects perceived errors in the original quartos, such as changing 'Earth-treading stars' to 'Even light,' and defends the psychological realism of figures like Juliet. Regarding *Hamlet*, Johnson analyzes Polonius as a man declining into dotage, whose wisdom is encroached upon by age, and critiques the play's lack of poetical justice in its conclusion. For *Othello*, he praises Shakespeare's skill in depicting human nature through the fiery openness of Othello, the cool malignity of Iago, and the soft simplicity of Desdemona. Johnson ultimately asserts that Shakespeare's drama serves as a faithful mirror of life, offering practical axioms and domestic wisdom that transcend the limitations of specific times or places.

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4.2/5

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Categories

• Classics
• Biography